Sky High Connectivity

Global Coverage and Innovative Satellites Propel SES into a New Age of Air Travel

Written on 01 Sep 2016

Satellites are shaping a new age of inflight connectivity. New satellite technologies are covering the globe in layers of high-powered, ubiquitous bandwidth, capable of connecting devices on both commercial and business aircraft carrying millions of passengers. From real-time turbulence-avoidance capabilities at the pilot’s fingertips, to a curated and personalised inflight passenger experience – global satellite ubiquity is on the verge of unveiling a new realm of possibilities.

SES innovation is boosting demand by investing billions in fortifying its global, robust, reliable, and secure satellite network to accelerate the exciting new growth and costsaving opportunities in one of the most dynamic industries on earth – aviation. Now airline passengers travelling at 500 miles per hour and 30,000 feet in the sky enjoy high-speed broadband thanks to satellite-enabled connectivity. SES’s ubiquitous global coverage, with high throughput beams placed over the busiest of 50,000 air travel routes in the world¹, has resulted in a compelling inflight connectivity (IFC) offering ideal for delivering connectivity to all airlines across the world.

The procurement of SES-17 is SES’s next strategic step in serving the aviation market. SES’s first and next generation Ka-band high throughput (HTS) satellite is yet another differentiator enabling SES to provide varied connectivity solutions to customers seeking mobility connectivity. This new addition to the SES fleet will significantly augment SES’s global coverage and ability to deliver a band-agnostic seamless network, meeting the exponential connectivity needs of the airline passengers of tomorrow.